1. Field of the Invention
The invention is in the field of telecommunication network control.
2. Description of the Background Art
Many locally managed telecommunication systems, such as PBXs, employ xe2x80x9cleast cost routingxe2x80x9d software to reduce telecommunication costs. The system""s manager arranges with more than one interexchange carrier to carry the system""s traffic from the local exchange to which it is connected to other exchanges. The manager keeps track of each carrier""s charges and populates the routing table in the xe2x80x9cleast cost routingxe2x80x9d software. The charges may be the regularly tariffed charges of the subscriber""s primary carrier or contracted charges offered by an alternate carrier for a bulk discount or for discounting traffic during a specific time period during the day. The xe2x80x9cleast cost routingxe2x80x9d software will examine each call attempt and automatically decide which carrier is the best economic choice for that call. If the call attempt fails, the software usually defaults the call attempt to the subscriber""s primary carrier.
Telecommunication carriers regularly enter into wholesale contractual arrangements with other carriers to use part or all of such other carriers"" telecommunications networks, for example, to complete calls to geographic regions the first carrier does not serve or to provide additional capacity on routes, or portions of routes, for which the first carrier may have little or no available capacity on its own network facilities at that time.
Recently a great deal of competition has developed between telecommunication carriers. This has been stimulated by both regulatory and technological changes. As telecommunication becomes more of a commodity it would be of great benefit to consumers to stimulate this competition and facilitate both a carrier""s and a consumer""s ability to make economic choices between telecommunication carriers.
Provision of telecommunication services is presently dominated by fixed contractual relationships, between service providers on a wholesale basis and between users and service providers on a retail basis. However, because of technological and regulatory changes, telecommunication service is becoming more of a commodity, with competition between service providers for traffic. The herein disclosed invention stimulates this competition and facilitates a service provider""s and a consumer""s ability to make economic choices between competing telecommunication carriers. In this method and system, telecommunication switches route calls in accordance with economic incentives (e.g., least cost routing) resulting from a bidding process between participating telecommunication carriers (Carriers), administered by a bidding service provider through operation of a central processor, a computer referred to as a bidding moderator (Moderator).
In this arrangement, each of the Carriers transmits to the Moderator the rate it is willing to charge (or other economic incentive it is willing to offer) for service between two specific switching points on one or more telecommunications networks, at some particular time. This xe2x80x9cbidxe2x80x9d rate may be for a route or a route segment. For purposes of differentiating in this document between a route and route segment, a xe2x80x9croutexe2x80x9d is service from the xe2x80x9coriginating switching point,xe2x80x9d i.e., the switching point on a telecommunications network that serves as the most immediate switching interface between the calling party and that telecommunications network (e.g., a local exchange switch or equivalent local switching node, whether hardware or software-defined, providing access to that network), to the xe2x80x9cterminating switching point,xe2x80x9d i.e., the switching point on a telecommunications network (which may, but need not be, owned or operated by the same carrier who owns or operates the originating switching point) that serves as the most immediate switching interface between the called party and that telecommunications network (e.g., a local exchange switch or equivalent local switching node, whether hardware or software-defined, providing access to that network). A xe2x80x9croute segmentxe2x80x9d is any and all of the following: (i) service from an originating switching point on a telecommunications network to an xe2x80x9cintermediate switching pointxe2x80x9d on the same or different telecommunications networks, such xe2x80x9cintermediate switching pointsxe2x80x9d being all switching points on one or more telecommunications networks that do not serve as the most immediate switching interface between the calling party and a telecommunications network or the most immediate switching interface between the called party and a telecommunications network, but do serve as switching points elsewhere in the telecommunications network or networks over which a call attempt may be routed (e.g., a tandem switch, a high-speed router or some other hardware or software-defined intermediate switching node on a telecommunications network); (ii) service from one intermediate switching point on a telecommunications network to another intermediate switching point on the same or different telecommunications networks; and (iii) service from an intermediate switching point on a telecommunications network to a terminating switching point on the same or different telecommunications networks. An originating switching point and terminating switching point may also be referred to in this application as an xe2x80x9coriginating switchxe2x80x9d or a xe2x80x9cterminating switchxe2x80x9d, respectively, when describing the network switching infrastructure of a local telecommunications service provider.
Carriers may submit bids for routes or route segments to the Moderator for different types of telecommunications networks (e.g., circuit-switched, frame relay, asynchronous transfer mode, packet data networks such as the Internet, etc., whether using electronic, photonic or other technology) and for different classes or qualities of telecommunications service provided by such networks (e.g., transmission of voice, data, video, etc.). Access to such telecommunications networks or facilities by end users or by other telecommunications carriers or service providers may be, for example, via the public switched telephone network, dedicated facilities, private lines, wireless facilities, fiber optic facilities, coaxial cable, electric utility power lines, Ethernet or other local area network (LAN), metropolitan area network (MAN) or wide area network (WAN) connections.
The bid rate may be lower than that Carrier""s established rate for any of several reasons (e.g., the Carrier has excess capacity on a particular route or route segment at that time). The Carrier may, for example, also decide for capacity or competitive reasons to place the same bid (i) on all traffic having the same originating switching point (e.g., an NPA-NXX) independent of terminating switching point or independent of which intermediate switching points such traffic may pass through, or (ii) on all traffic having the same terminating switching point independent of originating switching point or independent of which intermediate switching points such traffic may pass through. The Carrier may change its bids as often as it likes during the day as traffic patterns change. The Moderator collects this bid information from all the Carriers, sorts it among switching points, and may further process this bid information, for example, to select Carriers for particular routes or route segments or for individual call attempts. This carrier selection information may include, for example, a prioritization of the Carrier selection in accordance with Carriers"" bids for each route or route segment or the designation of a selected Carrier and, perhaps, a default Carrier. The Moderator then transmits selected portions of this information to each appropriate subscribing switch location and to participating Carriers"" network management centers. Each subscribing switching point (a xe2x80x9cSubscriberxe2x80x9d) gets the rate information and/or carrier selection information from the Moderator for all xe2x80x9cpoint-to-pointxe2x80x9d routes or route segments for service from the Subscriber to all other switching points. The Moderator provides each Carrier with bid information from other Carriers for at least a portion of all xe2x80x9cpoint-to-pointxe2x80x9d routes or route segments for which any Carrier has submitted a bid (e.g., any originating NPA-NXX to any other NPA-NXX or to any intermediate switching point on the public switched telephone network in the world). A route or route segment may be entirely contained within a single local exchange area.
From the list of all Carriers providing bid information to the Moderator, the Moderator or the Subscriber can select those Carriers to which it wants traffic routed and can change that selection at any time. The Subscriber downloads the bid information and/or carrier selection information of those selected Carriers into the routing tables in its switch. After each new bid is submitted by a Carrier and is processed by the Moderator, the rate and/or carrier selection information will be distributed to the relevant Subscribers and rate information will be distributed to other Carriers. The Carriers receiving the information will have the opportunity thereafter to submit a lower or higher bid for any point-to-point route or route segment on which they wish, respectively, to stimulate or discourage additional traffic.
Similarly, the Moderator could offer a different class of service directly to end users who are calling parties. As part of such a service, Carriers would provide an economic incentive for all such end users in a given local exchange area (e.g., an NPANXX or group of NPA-NXXs served by a switch) to originate calls terminating anywhere (e.g., by means of a low rate or stated discount). In that case the Moderator would broadcast (e.g., by wired data link or wireless transmission) rate information or carrier selection information generated by the Moderator to an interface unit at each end user location. The information may be displayed for evaluation by the end user or processed within the interface unit, with direction from the end user, and all outgoing calls routed to the selected Carrier. If the Carrier information is displayed for the end user, the user can choose a Carrier for a call attempt and key in the selected Carrier""s Carrier identification code before the desired destination address (e.g., telephone number). If the information is processed automatically within an interface unit in the line between the user""s terminal equipment and the local exchange switch, the interface unit can, for example, automatically insert the appropriate Carrier identifier before outgoing telephone numbers.
Through this bidding process, Carriers can compete for traffic on selected routes or route segments, or compete for traffic originating from selected points, in telecommunication networks. They can also manage their network traffic by adjusting their bids from time to time, depending on network traffic information or other network information. And users as well as other telecommunication service providers (who may, for example, wish to use the bidding process to obtain a lower rate for resale to customers) can easily make economic choices.
In order not to require each end user or reseller to establish a billing arrangement with each Carrier taking part in the bidding process, a central billing arrangement is advantageous. Such billing arrangements can be implemented with bill preparation performed by the Moderator, by an independent billing service provider, by the end user or reseller (e.g., a local exchange carrier owning or operating a subscribing switch) or by the selected Carrier.
The technology required to facilitate forward delivery transactions, in which a buyer and seller agree to the terms of a transaction today, for example, but schedule actual delivery for a future time, would be helpful to end users, resellers and Carriers. The Moderator can facilitate such transactions by processing requests for end users or resellers (as buyers) for future telecommunications services to be delivered by Carriers. In order to provide the Moderator with sufficient information to process such a request, the buyer will enter the information describing the request on a software-derived template and transmit such information to the Moderator.
Some subscribing switches (referred to in this application as Auction Switches) may be provisioned to treat every call attempt presented to them as a call attempt which is to be routed to the low-bidding Carrier (e.g., a switching point dedicated for use only by calling parties or resellers who are customers of the Moderator""s auction service). In some other cases, the Subscriber function can be incorporated in a more capable switching point (e.g., a local exchange switch or equivalent local switching node) handling call attempts from calling parties who are customers of the Moderator""s auction service and from other calling parties who are not. For example, in some telecommunications networks, such as packet data networks (e.g., networks used to carry IP packets, ATM cells, frame relay frames, etc.), each call attempt can include data fields in addition to an unique calling party identifier (e.g., a packet origination address) and a called party (or destination) address. One or more of the switches through which a call attempt passes can process some or all of the information in these additional data fields and route the call attempt in accordance with such information. For example, call attempts requiring a higher quality of service than others (e.g., IP packets that are part of a video transmission) may include in each packet such an additional data field with a high-priority service type indicator or code. One or more of the switches through which these packets pass will process that data field indicator and then route such packets to less congested transmission paths (with fewer delays and/or packet loss) than those paths over which lower priority traffic might travel. Some or all of the information in these additional data fields processed by the switch can indicate to the switch that the call attempt is to be routed in accordance with the Moderator""s auction service.